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BIMINI

A reader wrote to me recently, inquiring as to my suggestions for a one-week itinerary.  They are picking up a Power Cat from the Moorings base in Miami later in May.  Their boat should be ready for them to leave about 3 in the afternoon.  Their boat has a draft of about 3 feet and cruises at 23 knots.  Author’s note:  After my last correspondence with this particular reader went out, I lost a bunch of e-mail, and so no longer have your address.  I would appreciate it if you would write back.  I’d particularly appreciate hearing how your trip went. 

Their first question basically ask, is this too late to leave for a trip across the Gulf Stream, and is Bimini a worthwhile stop?  The second part of their inquiry, was basically how much can we pack into a one-week trip?  We don’t want to spend all day long every day, just driving the boat!  We’d like to spend some time on an anchor at a remote island, some time fishing, and some time visiting.  What do you suggest?

My first suggestion was that if they wanted to maximize their time in Abaco, they might pick up the same boat at the Moorings base in Marsh Harbour.  Given that they only have one week to play, they might not want to spend quite so much of their time getting to and from their destination, and spend more time “on site”.  That option was not available for the particular week they were scheduled, out of Marsh Harbour.

My response was basically; this is a great time to visit Bimini! I would enjoy the first night in Bimini, and use the first full day to cruise to Freeport and use the Grand Lucayan Water Way to cut across Grand Bahama Island to Abaco.  This will be the only day of running all day.  I estimate about 6-8 hours of running this day, but there are plenty of places along the way to stop if they decide that is too much for one day.  I would also plan to make Bimini my last stop, before returning to Miami.

The way I would design an itinerary for this set of circumstances, would be to depart for Bimini late in the afternoon, only if the seas are relatively flat and the weather forecast perfect.  Sunset in Bimini at this time of the year is about 8 EDT, so in good weather, they should have enough time to make the two-hour crossing and have a reasonable reserve of daylight.  It is nice to have the sun high and behind you when entering an unfamiliar harbor, but they should be okay at 5 p.m., especially since their vessel does not require a great deal of water depth.  If weather or circumstances, delay the departure from Miami, so that they depart early the next morning, I would recommend by-passing Bimini, and get the long leg of the trip out of the way on that first full day.  Catch Bimini on the way back.  If everything works out just right, these lucky cruisers get to spend their first and last nights of their cruise in Bimini.

Once you’re sure you have a good weather forecast, calculate a correction for crossing the Gulf Stream, given your estimated speed.  I did this for 20 knots and came up with a correction of about 7°.  Don’t forget to add about 4° to convert from our true course of 92°.  By my estimate, this gives me a magnetic heading of 103° for their boat from Government Cut in Miami to Bimini.  If the seas are anything less than perfect, adjust your estimated boat speed downward accordingly.  One could easily find oneself making only 15 knots instead of the expected 20; suddenly the crossing time becomes closer to 3 hours rather than the planned 2 hours-and the reserve of daylight starts to get a little thin!  If that happens to recalculate the heading correction.  Don’t wait until the GPS shows you are north of course, or you’ll have to correct even more costing still more boat speed and time.

B I M I N I

Bimini is a delightful island to visit.  Bimini is the island (two actually), Alice Town is the town.   Here, for brevity, I’ll simply use Bimini collectively.

Bimini has much to offer.  It is much like many of the small villages in Abaco, and will give our cruisers a taste of what’s to come.  In many ways, it will make up for the villages in the hub of Abaco, which our cruisers will miss on this particular itinerary.  Bimini also has much to offer in the way of fishing and diving.  There is a full service dive shop, so don’t forget to bring the SCUBA gear and your certification cards. 

There are adequate facilities on the island, but call in advance to make sure they have room for you, if you require dockage or a hotel room.  Particularly in the summer month, they get a lot of business from people who come over from Miami in relatively small boats, and stay in the hotels on the island.  Sometimes dock space and rooms can be a bit on the short supply.  

Here I’ve included some pictures, which space simply didn’t allow in the book and here I’ll give you some cool links to some of the places on Bimini.  Check out the Museum if you have time.

Every now and then you'll catch one of Chalk's Gruman Mallards crossing the street to get to the sea plane ramp. These huge beasts make a monstrous roar as they depart the tiny Bimini harbor. 

The Compleat Angler Hotel was Hemingway's hangout when he was here.  There is a great deal of memorabilia on the walls.  It's as if you've stepped back in time.  The grounds are lush and green.  It's well worth the stop.

The Red Lion Pub is a long time favorite on the island.  I found the food there to be  excellent.              In fact, I called it the best I found anywhere in the Bahamas.

And here's our chart of Bimini, in case you haven't bought the book yet.  This chart looks fine on the screen, but don't judge the quality of our printed charts, by what you can print off your computer.  The size of the files on the web page just don't permit me to post a high resolution chart, like you will find in the book.  Nevertheless, it will give you a sample of what is in the book.  Our original charts are a full 8 1/2 by 11 inches and include much more detail than most guides.

This is a long day of running, even in a fast powerboat.   Plan on running the north end of the Grand Lucayan Waterway on a rising tide if at all possible. 

Freeport makes a great destination, in it’s own right; but certainly makes a good fuel stop.  You may like it so well here, that you chose to stay over for the night.  There is nightlife here, and shopping like you won’t find in Abaco. Just remember, if you linger here too long, it shortens the time in Abaco

Any one of the many fine marinas in Bell Channel will put you close to all the action, and some very nice beaches.  

If you want to anchor out, there are any number of cul-de-sacs along the Grand Lucayan Waterway, but you won’t find any services here.  There is a little island, known as Peterson’s Cay about a mile east of the south entrance of the Grand Lucayan Waterway, which makes a great day stop for snorkeling.  It might make a suitable overnight anchorage in settled weather.  Enter the anchorage by going past the reef on the east end of the cay.  It makes a great little substitute for Abaco, but for this particular trip, you may be better off to move on to Abaco. 

The reef all along the south shore of Grand Bahama makes some great diving, but the section between Bell Channel and the Grand Lucayan Waterway is not as crowded as it is near Lucaya.  If you need to kill some time waiting for tide on the Grand Lucayan Waterway, this might be a great spot to stop and burn a tank of air.  For the most part, you won’t need the SCUBA in the Abaco legs of this cruise.  You’ll be able to get more air in Walkers, or for that matter back at UNEXSO in Bell Channel.

Grand Lucayan Waterway

I’ve called this the “hybrid route” in the book.  It is of the greatest use to powerboats, because of the fixed bridge and a couple of shallow spots on the north end.  Our cruisers for this trip should have no trouble, especially if they take the north end of the waterway on a rising tide.

Great Sale Cay

Great Sale Cay sits squarely in the middle of the Little Bahama Bank, and thus lacks the beaches or the nearby reef that makes those islands on the edge of the banks so nice. This has been the traditional stopping point for sailboats, enroute from West End to Abaco.  For slower boats, it’s the only decent anchorage on a trip too long to make in one day.  It’s not particularly picturesque, although there is a fairly nice beach on the west shore, and the old ruins of the old missile tracking station make for some interesting exploring. Our cruiser’s here don’t have that limitation.  The main advantage of this stop is that it makes a decent overnight anchorage for slower boats. For our friends here, it makes a good alternate anchorage if they chose not to push on to Carters Cay or one of the other outlying cays.

Carters Cay

I have selected this as the second overnight stop on this itinerary, because of the well-protected anchorage and its central location.   Central that is, to the northern Abacos.  From here one has a nice secure anchorage, with some decent fishing nearby and many islands to explore.  One could do a lot worse than spend every night here, venturing out during the day to the likes of Hog Cay or Strangers, returning here for the snug anchorage at night.  At this point, I  recommend  that you reassess the weather, how the boat is running, and the mood of the crew.  You now have days 3, 4, and 5 to spend as you chose.

From here Foxtown is only about 16 NM away, and will give you a nice flavor for an Abaco village, you can probably pick up fuel there, but watch the draft very carefully.  Once could probably expend the time and fuel to go all the way to Green Turtle Cay.  What I would probably do from this point is spend the next three days working my way to Walkers. 

Hog Cay makes a nice stop for some fishing, and may even make a nice overnight stop if the draft of the vessel and the surf on the outside permit your entry into the sheltered harbor.  One word of caution, if you’re on a short time line, this harbor could leave you trapped in the harbor for a while, if the ocean surf should pick up.  Given these two factors, I’d recommend this stop only is perfect weather, or if you have time to kill.

Strangers Cay has some excellent beaches, which you will usually have all to yourself.

Grand Cay offers another chance to visit a small native village in Abaco; you can usually get fuel here.

Enjoy picking and choosing!

Walkers Cay is an excellent out island resort.  By day five on this itinerary it’s time to be here if you are going to make the stop, which I highly recommend. Fuel is almost always available.  For those bringing their own boats from Florida, free dockage is available certain months out of the year.  You can then fly into their small private airstrip in Walkers own airline, or by seaplane with Chalk’s.  They have a first rate SCUBA facility too.  The hotel and restaurants are worth a visit too.  

An aerial view of the beautiful marina at Walkers Cay.  Long a favorite of fishermen with big powerboats, there is no reason a sailor can't enjoy walkers too!  The grounds are beautifully maintained, the restaurants and bars are good, and the fresh water pools can be delightful after lots of salt water.

If you get to Walkers Cay a day early, say day 4; you could break the long run back to Bimini at West End.  Right now, West End is in a re-building process and doesn’t have as much to offer as Walkers, if you have to choose between the two.  In another year or so, be sure to plan on a stop at West End.

I’d use day 6 to get back close to home.  Bimini makes a good choice, and then you’re a short hop across to Miami on the last day.  You can stay in the Bahamas as long as the weather and time permit.  Alternately, you could cross the Gulf Stream further north and run down the Florida coast, but as for me, I’d almost always rather stay in the Bahamas as long as possible.